Bozdoğan (tribe)

Turkmen tribe in Turkey

Bozdoğan, or Buztughan (Ottoman Turkish: بوزطوغان, lit. 'grey falcon'; Medieval Greek: Ποσδογάνης, romanized: Posdogánis), is a Turkoman tribe.

## History

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Historian Rustam Shukurov proposes that the tribe arrived in the region of Pontus from the west instead of the inner parts of eastern Anatolia.[1] The prior existence of the place name Bozdoğan within the Aydinid realm as well as another place in the Pontian region of Trikomia further strengthens this possibility according to Shukurov.[2]

In 1348, Bozdoğan became associated with the Aq Qoyunlu tribe through a joint raid on the Empire of Trebizond.[3] The leader of the tribe, Bozdoğan Beg was a chieftain loyal to Husayn Beg, who was an emir under Pir Muhammad, the ruler of the Sutayids. Following Husayn Beg's murder, Bozdoğan Beg and his tribe ransacked the area around the fortress of Heysem, which belonged to the Emirate of Hasankeyf. In 1352, the local emir and the Suleimani tribe of Kurds attacked Bozdoğan Beg when he attempted to ransack the region a second time on the way back to the yaylak near Mush. Bozdoğan Beg died in the skirmish that took place on 15 June. His sons Zia al-Mulk and Sa'd al-Mulk inherited the leadership and entered the service of Kadi Burhan al-Din, the ruler of the region around Kayseri and Sivas (r. 1381–98).[4] In 1381, the Bozdoğan tribe took sides with Barquq (r. 1382–89, 1390–99), the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt and Syria, against the Dulkadirid ruler Ghars al-Din Khalil (r. 1353–1386) in southern Anatolia and northern Syria. Zia al-Mulk joined the Mamluk forces with a composite army of various Turkoman, Arab, and Kurdish tribes under his command, which assisted the Mamluks in their victory on 6 July seizing Marash.[5] Two years later, following the news that pilgrims to Mosul were robbed by a chieftain of the Döğer tribe named Salim, Zia al-Mulk joined the Qara Qoyunlu chieftain Qara Mahammad (r. 1380–89) as part of an army of more than twelve thousand troops, which defeated Salim.[6] The Bozdoğan tribe's alliance with the Aq Qoyunlu persisted in 1398, when Sa'd al-Mulk was involved in the execution of Kadi Burhan al-Din by Qara Yuluk, the leader of the Aq Qoyunlu (r. 1378–1435).[7] However, sources following this event do not link Bozdoğan with the Aq Qoyunlu.[3]

## References

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1. ^ Shukurov 2016, p. 288.
2. ^ Shukurov 2016, p. 289.
3. ^ a b Woods 1999, p. 186.
4. ^ Sümer 1967, p. 40.
5. ^ Yinanç 1989, p. 23.
6. ^ Sümer 1967, p. 48.
7. ^ Woods 1999, pp. 40, 186.

## Bibliography

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* Shukurov, Rustam [in Russian] (9 May 2016). The Byzantine Turks, 1204-1461. Brill. ISBN 9789004307759. OCLC 946032551.
* Sümer, Faruk (1967). Kara Koyunlular (Başlangıçtan Cihanşah'a Kadar) (in Turkish). Ankara: Turkish Historical Society Press. ISBN 978-975-17-4847-8. OCLC 1321247020.
* Woods, John E. (1999). The Aqquyunlu: Clan, Confederation, Empire (Revised and Expanded Edition). University of Utah Press. ISBN 9780874805659. OCLC 44966081.
* Yinanç, Refet (1989). Dulkadir Beyliği (in Turkish). Ankara: Turkish Historical Society Press. ISBN 9751601711. OCLC 21676736.

*[r.]: reigned